As more metroidvania games come out, we're seeing fewer of them resemble the originators of the subgenre--Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night--and more that clearly take inspiration from those that came after. Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus is one such example, with tons of clear parallels to Hollow Knight in terms of both gameplay and narrative. In a few ways, this works extremely well for Path of the Teal Lotus--if you're going to take inspiration from a game, do it using one where there's a lot of good stuff to build on. However, Path of the Teal Lotus pales in comparison to its inspirations by making mechanics and features that were already problems in Hollow Knight, like an unclear map and frustrating platforming gauntlets, worse. It makes for an altogether decent-enough game if based solely on its own merits, but one that doesn't stand out at all when held up against its juggernaut contemporaries.

In Path of the Teal Lotus, you play as the titular Bō, a celestial blossom charged with fulfilling an ancient prophecy and defeating a terrifyingly large monstrosity after falling from the heavens. Armed with a bō staff, Bō must traverse and fight their way through picturesque locales, meeting characters and fighting monsters inspired by Japanese folklore. It's an incredible narrative tee-up, but one that comes after hours of coy character dialogue and not much in the way of direction beyond "go get this ability to get to the next area." Path of the Teal Lotus' story takes a long time to get going, leaving the first half of the game feeling directionless. And once a story does start falling into place, the game is already heading toward its conclusion, culminating in an overall narrative tempo that initially feels far too slow before becoming rushed and difficult to follow.

And I wanted to get lost in this game's world. Path of the Teal Lotus is a beautiful game, featuring a colorful, hand-drawn 2.5D style that incorporates vibrant greens, electric blues, somber purples, and shining reds. Character and enemy designs are varied and pop against the backdrop, with details helping to highlight NPCs you want to talk to and enemy weak points you want to bash. The world relies on the tried-and-true method of associating a specific color with each location and then relying on said color to depict the same location on the map, reinforcing each distinct locale and the unique challenges you'll encounter there, whether it's the icy blue of a snow-covered mountaintop or soft pink of a sakura-filled forest.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is a wildly popular anime and manga series that stars a captivating cast of characters all seeking to protect innocents from insidious threats. My wife and I are huge fans of the show to the point that we’ve obtained dozens of Banpresto, Figurizm, and Masterlise figures for our humble collection. It’s also why I was intrigued by Demon Slayer: Sweep the Board!, a virtual board game adaptation of the series from CyberConnect 2 and Sega.

Following its release on Nintendo Switch this past April, Demon Slayer: Sweep the Board has been released on additional platforms. Unfortunately, however, it seems my wait for Sweep the Board to come to PC was not worth it. After nearly 10 hours of playing, I still have a hard time discerning just who exactly this game was made for. From clunky controls to boring minigames, Sweep the Board feels like a party game that lacks any sense of "party."

Demon Slayer: Sweep the Board adapts several arcs of the manga and anime into Mario Party-esque layouts. From Asakusa and Mount Fujikasane in Board 1 to the Swordsmith Village in Board 5, each map is chock-full of references and nods to moments from the show, which was a treat for me as a fan. For instance, there are multiple paths in Mt. Natagumo that take you to Tsuzumi Mansion, which has a mysterious drum that causes characters inside the building to move to random locations. The Swordsmith Village, meanwhile, has hot springs, mechanical training dolls, and Haganezuka chasing you around. Those familiar with the source material will no doubt get a kick out of the references, albeit a brief one.

Coming off the heels of the decade-long Hydaelyn and Zodiark saga, Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail takes you to completely new territory, quite literally. For once, you--the Warrior of Light--are offered the chance for some peace and quiet alongside your friends, with no calamitous threat looming over your shoulder. There are no dragons to slay, gods to fell, or villains to vanquish on the agenda. Hell, we traveled to the literal edge of the universe, I think it's fair to say we deserve this break.

This latest adventure is the beginning of something new for the MMO and aims to try something a little different with a number of unpredictable outcomes. You'd be setting yourself up for disappointment if you're expecting this expansion to offer the non-stop excitement and narrative revelations or Shadowbringers or Endwalker, but Dawntrail is still a great setup for a lower-stakes adventure, and one that ultimately makes Dawntrail's twist that much more compelling.

Major spoilers ahead for Dawntrail's story

More than almost any other genre, the metroidvania is reaching a saturation point. We have beloved modernizations like Hollow Knight and Axiom Verge and big-budget takes like Batman: Arkham Asylum or this year's Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, alongside a steady, constant drumbeat of indie releases. It's hard to throw a rock at Steam without hitting at least a couple of metroidvanias, and with that much choice, it's hard for any one to stand out. Gestalt: Steam and Cinder is the latest indie take on the genre, but it manages to do what many others don't: pay homage to the two most prominent originators of the genre with smart, deliberate design choices that help it stand out in a crowded field.

In some sense, all metroidvanias combine aspects of Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Gestalt does so as well, but it also wisely leans on some of their best attributes, which feels like a conscious choice. For Super Metroid, that means a vast, interconnected world that is broken into a handful of distinct zones that play like their own stages. And like Symphony of the Night, it sports gorgeous pixel art with an emphasis on slick combat with light RPG hooks.

In Gestalt, you play as Aletheia, a no-nonsense bounty hunter who is on semi-friendly terms with the governing body of Canaan, a post-apocalyptic steampunk city. The world has recovered from the devastation of a war involving clockwork soldiers and cursed armor, but the stability is tense and everyone senses it's coming to an end. You get the impression throughout that Canaan's peacekeepers have tried to recruit Aletheia at various points, but she's always preferred to go her own way because she is, above all else, a cool, independent protagonist. Taking bounties ultimately leads to trouble as she investigates the areas around Canaan for clues about what's really going on.

Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn has been marketed as a souls-lite rather than the more common souls-like, which I assumed meant it would be more approachable while still retaining many of the genre's core tenets. This is partly true in that it's nowhere near as punishing as From Software's games, and features familiar elements like bonfire-esque checkpoints and an Estus Flask-style healing system. Yet the game's style is more akin to something like Star Wars: Jedi Survivor than any Dark Souls game. Flintlock feels like a mashup of sensibilities between a souls-like and a more traditional action game, bridging the gap between the two with its own delightful approach to fast-paced combat and high-flying traversal.

One area in which Flintlock immediately stands out amongst its contemporaries is its unique setting. Mixing magical high fantasy with elements from the 17th to 19th century and the advent of gunpowder, Flintlock's world is immediately intriguing. For your part, you're strapped into the boots of protagonist Nor Vanek, a sapper in the Coalition army who unwittingly breaks a seal to the Great Below, unleashing malevolent Gods and their armies of the dead upon the lands of Kian. This act sets in motion a fairly straightforward story as Nor--wracked with guilt over condemning her home to near-annihilation--sets out on a path of vengeance to kill the Gods and retake the world. She's joined by a mysterious fox-like companion called Enki, who's keen to share his knowledge of the Gods while aiding Nor's efforts with a host of magical abilities.

The narrative's simple, laser-focused approach works in the game's favor, giving you a clear end goal to pursue that aligns with the snappy pacing of its action and movement. There are moments of interpersonal conflict, but the story never deviates from its deicidal path, lending the narrative a purposeful sense of forward momentum that carries it through to the end. The trade-off, however, is that you're unlikely to feel any attachment to its small cast of one-dimensional characters, despite enjoyable performances from Olive Gray (Halo), Alistar Petrie (Sex Education), and Elias Toufexis (Deus Ex: Mankind Divided).